Electric range



June 30 1942. H, SICKENGER I 2,238,144

ELECTRIC RANGE Filed Sept. 25, 1939 ,2 Sheets-Sheet l Ll Jl INVENTOR. WiLL/fiM H. film/mam.

BY WW% ATTORNEYS.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 N. H. SICKINGER ELECTRIC RANGE Filed Sept. 23, 195$ June 30 1942.

Patented June 30, 1942 2,238,144. ELECTRIC armor.

William H. Sickinzer, St. Joseph, 1116., assignor to The Malleable Steel Range 'Manulacturing ompany, Indiana South Bend; 11111., a corporation of Application September 23, 1939, Serial No. 296,217 6 Claims. (Cl. 219-35) This invention relates to electric ranges, and more particularly to a novel construction of removable cooking or heating unit normally disposed within the interior of a range cabinet, such as a drawer-mounted Warming oven. or drawer mounted cooking unit. At present most electric ranges do not have warming ovens, and their cooker units are mounted in the top of the stove cabinet, by reason of the fact that no satisfactory manner for including the same within the stove cabinet has been developed. Some efiort to develop such a constructionfhas been made, but the resultant devices have generally been unsatisfactory. One such device utilizes a flexible wire extending from the rear of the stove cabinet to a stove drawer, said wire being of a length to accommodate opening of the drawer. However, it will be observed that such a wire prevents entire removal of a drawer without manual disconnection of the electrical connector, and also is subject to kinking, breaking and wear of the insulating covering of the wire upon repeated opening and closing of the drawer with resultant alternate bending and extension oi the wire.

Therefore, it is the primary object of this invention to provide novel and simple means for electrically connecting an electrical unit carried by a stove drawer with terminals of an operating circuit.

A further object is to provide an electrical connection for a heating element carried by a stove drawer, of such character as to permit removal of a drawer from a stove cabinet without requiring any manipulation of parts constituting elements of an electric circuit.

A further object is to provide an electric range with an electric unit mounted in a drawer and provided with an adjustable control, wherein said unit is operableonly when said drawer is fully closed and said control is properly set.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which is absolutely safe and prevents electric shock when the drawer is opened.

A further object is to provide a novel arrangement of a drip pan in astove cabinet to constitute a covering for a stove drawer.

A further object is to provide a device of this character having a control for the drawer mounted electrical heating unit positioned interiorly in the range when the drawer is closed.

A further object is to provide a novel arrangement of circuit maker and breaker for electric ranges- Other objects will be apparent from the description and appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of an electric range taken on line i' i of Fig; 2and illustrating in top el vation my improved stove drawer construction with its eleo trical connections.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sec tional view taken on line E il or. F

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view illustrating the arrangement the control unit in a warming drawer.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged iragmentary detail view illustrating the circuit maker and breaker con. nection.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. iand illustrating a cooker mounted in the stove'drawer.

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on line l5-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiment oi the invention. the nu" meral l0 designates a range cabinet having a front wall ii, side walls it, back wall is and top H. The top is provided with the usual open ings defined by offset flanges is for receiving and supporting electric heating or cooking units it;

suitably electrically connected to a source of power.

Within the range cabinet are mounts more drawers ii, each. having botto side walls is, back wall and front wall a The front wall 2i carries a suitable handle 22 and may be provided with an interiorly oii'set false front 23 to provide chamber :ior receiving insulation to protect the drawer front ill. The range is provided with suitable uprights mounting guide members 25 adjacent the lower ends of the opposite sides ll! of the drawer. The drawer is adapted to move freely on said guides supported by rollers- 27 associated with the guides.

The range cabinet Hi may be provided withguides 28 extending horizontally from front to rear thereof adjacent the level of the upper end of the door front 2|. A suitable drip pan His slidable on guides 28. The upper edge of the margin of the drip pan 29 preferably fits snugly under an inturned flange 30 at the top or the drawer front 2| so that, as the drawer is opened, the drip pan will move forwardly therewith. 0! course, if desired, drip pan 29 may be positioned inwardly away from the drawer front whereby it remains stationary upon movement 01 the drawer.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 wherein a warming oven arrangement is shown, a false bottom 3|, Fig. 2, may be provided in the drawer H to house a-suitable heating element preferably comprising spaced longitudinally extending insulator bars 32 for supporting and positioning electrical heating conductors 33 arranged in any desired manner for the purpose of supplying and distributing the desired amount of heat. The ends of the electrical conductor 33 are electrically connected with suitable angle iron terminal members 34, 35, and 36, each of which is mounted on the bottom l8 of the stove drawer at the rear thereof and insulated from the drawer by insulating element 31. Within the .drawer adjacent the front thereof, a suitable control element 38 is mounted on one of the side walls IQ of the drawer and is interposed in the electrical conductor 33. The drawer wall I9 is preferably provided with an inset portion 39 to provide a pocket 40 in its outer face for the reception of a control knob 4| for operating the control unit 38. The knob 4| is so arranged in the pocket that its outer surface is flush with or inwardly disposed with relation to the plane of drawer side wall |9.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 4, the rear wall |3 of the range cabinet is provided with an opening 42 opposite the angle bars 34, 3'4, and 36. At opposite sides of wall l3 and spanning opening 42 are secured plates 43 formed of insulating material and each having a series of openings therein aligned with similar openings in theother. In these openings and-spaced from the edges'of opening 42 are slidably mounteda series of elongated conductors 44 each having an enlarged collar 45 adjacent its inner end and a conductor tip 46 which is preferably formed of platinum or other non-pitting material. A coil spring 41 encircles each member 44 between collar 45 and the inner insulation plate 43. Th outer end of each member 44 carries a fixedly positioned head 48 which is urged into engagement with the outer insulation plate by spring 41. An electrical conductor 49 is secured to and electrically connected with each member 44 outwardly of head 48. Members 44 are of such length that, when the drawer I1 is fully closed, each thereof will be contacted and slightly moved by one of the conductor terminals 34, 35, and 36 and will be held in terminal-contacting position by springs 41, thus providing a three-point circuit making and breaking arrangement between the electrical circuit parts carried by drawer and the stove cabinet respectively. As here illustrated, two of the conductors 49 serve to form positive and negative leads for the drawer heating element 33, and the third may be connected with a suitable signal de vice or the like. It will thus be seen that, while two of the conductor members 44 are required for connection of the heating element 33 with an operating circuit, any desired additional number of such conductors may also be utilized for various purposes. i

The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming that the positive and negative leads 49 are properly connected with an operating circuit, electrical connection between the same and the heating element 33 of the drawer willbe established whenever the drawer is fully closed, at which time the springs 41 associated with con ductor members 44 will serve to establish a spring-pressed electrical connection between said leads and said heating element. The control 38 may be set for open circuit position or for any desired temperature-controlling closed-circuit position. Thus two factors are required for operation of the heating element 33; namely, setting of the control 33 in closed-circuit position, and a full closing of the stove drawer to effect a positive contact between conductor members 44 and drawer terminal brackets 34,, 'and 36. As soon as the drawer is opened the operating circuit is broken and the operation of opening the drawer is in no way hindered or impeded by the connector element. Also, the drawer may be completely withdrawn 'or removed from the stove cabinet without interference from the connector elements. It will be observed that the position-- In the construction illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6,.

the stove drawer I1 is mounted in substantially the same manner as in the preferred construction, and is'provided with terminals 34, 35 and 36 for engagement by the connecting conductors 44 in the same manner as in the preferred construction. .However, the construction provides a cooker unit within the drawer. This cooker unit comprises a housing having side walls 50 and a top 5|. Top 5| has a large circular openported by insulation bars 54 and encircling wall 52. A cooking pan 55 fits snugly within the chamber defined by inner wall 52. A control unit 56 is supported on the top 5| and has an adjustable hand piece 51 for operating the same. In this construction electrical lead wires 58 extend from the respective terminals 34, 35, 36 for connection with the heating element 53 and control member 56; said lead wires 58 preferably being positioned in concealed and protected relation at or adjacent the bottom l8 of the stove drawer. This arrangement is the same in all functional respects as that heretofore described, and has the same advantages of control through the dual factors of the position of the drawer in the cabinet and the manipulation of the control member 56, as in the preferred construction. Likewise it permits full removal of the stove drawer without interference from the circuit connector, and positions the control element 56 interiorly of the stove drawer during operation.

I claim:

1. In an electric range, a range cabinet, a drawer slidable in and removable from said cabinet, a heating unit carried by said drawer, an adjustable control switch for said unit mounted within said drawer, terminal members for said unit carried by said drawer at the rear end thereof, and a plurality of elongated spring pressed conductors mounted by the rear of said cabinet for longitudinal sliding movement parallel to the path of movement of said drawer and in alignment with said terminal members, each of said conductors projecting into said cabinet for spring compressing end abutment with one of said terminal members when said drawer is closed.

2. The. construction defined in claim 1, wherein said cabinethas an opening in which said drawer has a sliding flt, one side wall of said drawer passing through said opening having an inset portion adjacent said control switch to form a recess at the outer face of said side wall, and said control switch has a manually operable member seated and entirely confined in said recess.

3. In an electric range having a cabinet and a drawer slidable therein, a heating element carried by said drawer and having terminals projecting from a portion of said drawer normally positioned within said cabinet, said cabinet having an opening adjacent the position assumed by said terminals when said drawer is closed, an insulating member spanning said opening, electrical conductors carried by said member spaced from the edges of said opening, said conductors being slidable parallel to the path of movement of said drawer, and a spring acting on each conductor to urge the same inwardly of said cabinet into the path of movement of one of said terminals and to maintain said conductor in positive spring pressed end abutment with said terminals when said drawer is closed.

4. An electric range having a cabinet and a drawer slidable therein, a heating unit carried by said drawer and having terminal members projecting from the rear portion of said drawer, said cabinet having an opening at the rear thereof opposite said terminal members, a pair of insulation plates secured to the inner and outer faces of said cabinet in spaced opposed relation to span and close said opening, said plates having a plurality oi sets of openings therein aligned with said terminal members and spaced from the edges of the cabinet opening, an elongated rigid conductor slidably mounted in each set of plate openings and having fixed shoulders adjacent each end, and a coil spring encircling the inner end of each conductor with its ends bear ing against theinner shoulder and the inner plate to urge said conductor in positive end abutment with one of said terminal members when said drawer is closed, the outer shoulder bearing on the outer plate to limit the inward spring pressed movement of said conductor.

5. In a cooking range, a range cabinet havin top, bottom, front, back and side walls, said top and front walls. having openings therein, a pair of vertically spaced sets of horizontal guides mounted in said cabinet, a drawer mounted on the lower set of guides and having an enlarged front wall bearing against the front of said cabinet around said front opening, a cooking unit spanning said top opening, and a drip pan mounted on the upper set of guides, the front wall of said drawer having a recess at its inner face into which the front of said drip pan is adapted to be detachably retained.

6, In a cooking range, a range cabinet having an apertured top and front walls, a pair of vertically spaced sets of horizontal guides mounted in said cabinet, a. drawer mounted on the lower set of guides and having a front wall, a cooking unit said topopening, a drip pan slidable on the upper set of guides, and retaining means carried by the front wall of said drawer engageable with the front of said drip pan to retain said pan in predetermined relation to said drawer.

' WILLIAM H. SICKINGER. 

